VICTORIA, B.C. — As bikers love to pontificate – sometimes a little too much for polite dinner parties – riding any motorcycle is an adventure. Deeming an entire segment of two-wheelers as adventure tourers, therefore, would seem redundant. One doesn’t, for instance, bother to distinguish a Ferrari as “fast.”

Nonetheless, just such a distinction exists, the main premise being that “adventure” touring need not stop when the pavement does. So where a Gold Wing might fear to traipse – gravel roads, tight trails, Saharan deserts if you’re really ambitious – anyone riding an adventure tourer can continue their exploration over yonder rock-covered hill and mud-strewn dale.

Typically, adventure tourers look like oversized dirt bikes with a few incidental touring comforts thrown in. Powered by large, twin-cylinder engines (better handling the rigours of high-speed highways than a typical dirt bike’s single-cylinder), they also offer more substantial fairings/windscreens (again, with the high-speed highway thing, only this time for comfort) to beef up their on-road bona fides.

Both obviously enhance the “touring” side of the equation, but unfortunately, this also ups the size of a supposedly off-road motorcycle way beyond anything meant to be “motocrossed.” Typical dirt bikes weigh between 100 and 130 kilograms, anything more causing severe muscle strain and/or an impromptu meeting of clavicle and terra firma. A typical adventure tourer will weigh well north of 200 kilos, and those geared more for the “touring” part of the equation than the “adventure” portion can be almost as heavy as a traditional touring bike.

2016 Honda CRF1000 Africa Twin

So when Honda promotes its new twin-cylinder 998-cc adventure-oriented Africa Twin as “off-road worthy,” it’s relative. That said, compared with what now passes as an off-road friendly adventure bike, the Africa Twin feels positively motocross-ish. Weighing in at “only” 211 kilograms, the Honda is easier to toss about, for instance, than BMW’s standard-bearing R1200 GS Adventure. The class-leading 2.5-metre turning radius makes trials-type plonking easier. The 90/90-21 front tire, which looks so comically narrow on something that spends at least some of its time on paved roads, is a boon in mud and sand. The footpegs and handlebar are all ideally situated for standing up on the pegs, the de facto riding position when one is venturing off-road. Indeed, unlike the vast majority of bikes in this segment whose off-road intent is more form than function, the farther off the beaten path you plan on exploring, the more the Africa Twin distinguishes itself.

There are compromises, of course. The engine, such a friendly, tractable beast off-road, boasts “only” 94 horsepower. While that’s more than enough power for two-up highway cruising, unlike similarly styled, but less off-road worthy adventurers like the 160-horse KTM 1290 Super Adventurer, throttle-only power wheelies are beyond the Africa Twin’s purview, the Honda conspicuously eschewing tire-smoking performance on the street for linear low-end torque in the dirt.

2016 Honda CRF1000 Africa Twin

That’s not to say that the Africa Twin isn’t sophisticated. Its traction control system is among the highest tech in motorcycling, especially well calibrated for off-roading. Flip the handlebar toggle to its first (most liberal position) setting and let the traction nanny determine the best combination of wheelspin and grunt to scale even the steepest and muddiest inclines.

Then there’s the Africa Twin’s “automated” transmission, the most polished rendition of Honda’s automotive-style Dual Clutch Transmission yet. Although originally designed for on-road use, Honda’s latest DCT may actually be the optimal choice for those with aspirations to mud and bog. Yes, I know all of you who’ve ever roosted a knobby are scowling.

Nonetheless, for anyone not named Lawrence Hacking (Canada’s most successful two-wheeled Paris-Dakar rallyist), not having to worry about clutch feathering and other delicate nuances when you’re trying to manhandle a 500-pound gorilla through your 47th mud bog in eight miles is a welcome relief. What little strength you have left is best devoted to just staying upright. Ditto climbing hills, squirting off berms and, yes, I was surprised too, even when sliding on gravel roads. Indeed, after two days of serious dirt donking, the only detriment I could find to DCT-ing off-road was the inability of the dual clutches to mimic the sensitivity of your clutch hand when you’re tiptoeing through a U-turn on a tight trail; the clutch engages too suddenly to allow a graceful feet-up about-face.

2016 Honda CRF1000 Africa Twin

The Africa Twin’s competence extends beyond off-roading. The fairing, for instance, may be off-road minimalist, but it punches a larger hole in the wind than its dimensions suggest; ditto the windshield. Indeed, the Honda’s optional taller windscreen provided the best turbulence-free still-air envelope I’ve encountered this side of a Gold Wing. The riding position, like most adventure bikes, is extremely comfortable and, though we didn’t get enough time in the saddle to adequately judge the seat’s support, it is fairly broad and flat.

Complaints are few. The instrument cluster is small, its digital displays too tiny to read. The DCT’s up/down shifting toggles are somewhat awkwardly placed; playing silly buggers on a long, twisty backroad will soon cramp your thumb and forefinger. But, this is surely the measure of how good the new Africa Twin is — and how well received this latest version of Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission is — that the single loudest complaint voiced by the assembled throng of Canadian motojournalists is that the DCT tranny is not (yet) available in Honda’s traditional red, white and black “Rally” colours. For some reason — that only makes sense to some MBA marketing maven — opting for the high-tech transmission means clothing your Africa Twin in a somnolent silver only a Toyota Camry owner could love.

2016 Honda CRF1000 Africa Twin

And there’s one last reason to favour Honda’s new adventure tourer. Not only is the Africa Twin’s minimalism off-road worthy, but it’s MSRP-friendly, too. Africa Twins start at $13,999 and even the all-singing, all-dancing DCT versions costs but $14,999. Considering how much more adept it is at true adventuring than its competition, that’s quite a bargain.